Just about every baseball fan loathes Bud Selig. It's evident in the comments section of about every article that is about him. As a big baseball fan as myself, I despise the man at times like anybody else. That said, I judge him fairly as he has done one thing that has been great for baseball that no other commissioner in the last few decades can claim.

Now I'm only in my 20s, so I was spared from experiencing the infamous baseball strike that happen in 1994. Since Selig came in during the strike, there hasn't been a lockout, or a threat of a lockout at all during his tenure. He has been the first commissioner in decades to bring stability between the players and owners. Before Bud Selig came in, the last 4 commissioners from Bowie Khun to Fay Vincent had labor issues. There was a strike in 1982 that shorten the season into two halfes. Then the players constantly threaten to strike from the mid 80s to the 1994 strike when they finally walked out. The mistrust between the players and the owners and the MLB dates back to the 60s and 70s when ownership and players confidence of the league to be run smoothly was non existent.

While the players did strike briefly in 82, it wasn't until the 1994 strike when the World Series was canceled that MLB was brought onto it's knees. The image of the 1994 strike was basically millionaires arguing amongst each other on who should have more money. Fortunately, the MLB elected Bud Selig to handle negotiations between MLB and the players union, and a deal was reached before the 1995 season.

The affects of the strike was evident at the beginning of the 1995 season with poor attendance and constant booing at the most vocal players; however, as Bud Selig remained in the commissioner position, he eventually restored baseball's brand and help the sport to contiue growing. It was mostly due to keep the peace between the players and owners which is no easy task.

That is why I believe Bud Selig should be treated fairly instead of people demagoguing him. He isn't perfect by any means, especially with changest to the All Star Game and MLB postseason which I'll tackled in a later post. But for all the questionable things he has done, he has honestly kept the peace and game stable for almost 2 decades. That right there is a major accomplishment itself.

p.s.: I will go back and edit my grammar and spelling mistakes later as I am short on time this morning.